Tag: reading wrap up

January Wrap-Up

Francesca Lucy2 Comments

Hi! February’s reading so far is not going great, but January actually ended up being a really fun reading month for me. I took a break from reading ARCs so I could fall back in love with reading and started powering through some other books that have been on my TBR forever. And it worked! Because I ended up reading seven books which, for me, is a super strong start to the year.

About the books I read in Jan:

First up is House of Hollow. I’ve had a copy of this book since it came out but I lost it somewhere in my house and didn’t want to buy a new one in case it showed up… But, like heroes, Hot Key Books sent me a proof as part of a very exciting giveaway win in December and I finally got to read it! This is a really fun, dark, twisty fantasy, with a fascinating protagonist. It was a really quick read for me because I couldn’t put it down, and the plot twists and dramatic moments absolutely did not disappoint. It’s a very satisfying first read of the year and was absolutely worth the wait. 4.5/5

An Arrow to the Moon is next (the only ARC I read in January!!! Review to follow…). My expectations were unrealistically high for this book and, although I didn’t love this one as much as I originally hoped, it was still a fun, very easy read, inspired by the story of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess. The characters felt very young and parts of the story seemed a little jumpy but, other than that, the overall story was really interesting and the romance really cute. 3/5

Next up: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town. I bought this book forever ago because I’m obsessed with the title, and I had no idea really what it would be when I started. It’s actually a collection of short stories about the lives of different protagonists in different small towns, all tied together by relationships with characters in the story before. Despite the short time we spend with each character, the stories all felt so real that I grew attached to quite a few, and I really enjoyed seeing how each of the characters dealt with their own challenges, which included both the somewhat trivial problems of fictional teenagers and some very real social and political issues. 4/5

My fourth read of the month was All of This is True. This is such a unique read, which tells the story of a group of teenagers who befriend their favourite, NYT-bestselling author, only to discover that she’s only spending time with them so she can use their lives as the plot of her next book. It’s a dramatic book with a very varied set of protagonists and a few interesting twists, and it’s a very quick read as it’s told largely in journal entries, interviews and message threads. 3.5/5

The next book I read was Heartstopper Vol. 2. I’m saving these volumes for days that I’m not feeling great, because it’s such an adorable, heart-warming series to pick up when you don’t feel like reading anything else. I love love love Nick and Charlie and I’m so excited to see what happens next in their story. 4/5

My only audiobook of the month was Empress and Aniya. This is another one that’s been on my TBR forever and the audiobook (at around four hours long) was so un-intimidating that I decided not to put it off any longer. The target audience of this one is likely slightly younger than me, but I still found it to be a really sweet book about friendship, love and empathy. Also, the narrator is amazing, and I’d fully recommend if audiobooks are your thing. 3.5/5

Finally, my last read of the month was It’s Behind You. Very much in the same vein as Good Girls Die First, this one is a creepy horror/thriller full of jump-scares, possible hauntings and overly dramatic protagonists, set in a sealed, haunted cave. I’m not entirely sure how I felt about the ending, but the book overall was really great and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. 4/5

And that’s it! I’d love to hear what you think if you’ve read any of the above, so let me know in the comments 🙂

NOVEMBER WRAP-UP

Francesca Lucy3 Comments

I can’t process a couple of things about this wrap-up. The first is that it’s already the end of November?? It seems impossible that we’re weeks away from Christmas now and, although I’m very excited about that, it’s also terrifying to think about… The second thing I can’t process about this wrap-up is that I read EIGHT books this month. EIGHT. As in: double what I read last month. So happy to have had such a good reading month and crossing my fingers that I don’t find myself slumping in December to make up for it!

Anyway, I read a lot of great books this month and I’m very excited to talk about all of them.

First up is Only a Monster by Vanessa Len – This was my first read of NetGalley November and I absolutely loved it. It took the villain protagonist trope very literally and I loved how conflicted I felt about 90% of what happened. Although it took me a while to get into it, it was very much worth the read. 4/5

Lock the Doors by Vincent Ralph – This was a very quick and easy thriller read. Sadly not one of my favourite books of the month as it was a little jumpy and I didn’t find myself overly invested, but it was still a fun read with an interesting protagonist, and it definitely got better towards the end. 2.5/5

Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan – This is an absolute MUST read for YA fantasy lovers. It’s definitely similar in many ways to a lot of other fantasy books out there right now, but it was still a unique and impressive read with characters that I loved, incredible world building and some very dramatic climactic scenes. My favourite book of the month, for sure. 5/5

After the Rain by Natalia Gomes – Unfortunately, I didn’t love this book. It’s been on my TBR for a while and I made myself read it for Netgalley November, but I didn’t connect with the characters or their friendship as much as I hoped I would. The author does handle sensitive topics very well and I did appreciate the characters’ journeys towards recovery, but that was sadly the only thing I really enjoyed about it. 2/5

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman – I was starting to feel a little intimidated by my TBR this month so decided to take a break and read a fun graphic novel instead. This book is so sweet and so worth the hype, and I’ll definitely be picking up the next few volumes asap. 4/5

If This Gets Out by Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzales – This is a sweet contemporary read about two members of a world famous boy band who fall in love, and how they deal with the complications of it. It seemed really genuine in its portrayal of their relationship, and handled some other sensitive topics with the side characters as well. Although not my usual genre, I did really enjoy it. 3.5/5

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J Taylor – This book is more my style than anything else on this list. It gave off major Caraval vibes and I instantly fell in love with both of the main characters. It reads as slightly younger YA and I’m definitely above the YA target audience, but the setting was very well-developed, the story was fun and it was perfect as a quick, escapist read. 4/5

Finally, The Girls are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh – such a fun read. It has ghosts, it has a creepy mansion, it has romance, it has influencers. The YA horror vibes reminded me of Anna Dressed in Blood (which is one of my all time FAVES) and I devoured this book in basically one sitting. It was definitely a little cliched at times but, to be honest, that kind of made me enjoy it more… 4/5

And that’s it!… phew. I’d love to hear what you think of any of the above, and what your favourite book of the month was! All best wishes for a good reading month in December ❤

September Reading Wrap-Up

Francesca Lucy7 Comments

It’s nearly October! Which means it’s nearly time for Halloween reads only and horror and spooky books, and I’m SO excited for it. That being said, September was also a pretty incredible month for reading. I really expected to finish more books this month and the fact that I only read five might be disappointing if the majority of them just weren’t so good! Anyway, here’s my brief but very exciting September reading wrap up:

Gilded by Marissa Meyer – I LOVE this book. I never read the story of Rumpelstiltskin so I have no clue how heavily it referenced the fairytale, but it was an incredibly told story either way. The descriptions were magical, the characters were fascinating and the story was well-told, in sections that felt almost like individual short stories but tied together perfectly. 5/5 (the first of many this month…)

Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer – like Marissa Meyer, Brigid Kemmerer is another bestselling author that I’ve been missing out on for a pretty long time. This book is fast-paced, unique, very intense and emotional, with a strong, very moral protagonist, a swoon-worthy royal love interest and a fascinating story. I loved it. 5/5

Fools in Love by various authors – this was a really sweet short story collection entirely about love, with each story being based on a popular YA romance trope such as ‘only one bed’ or ‘friends to lovers’. The stories were very diverse and representative and, although some were much better than others, it was really fun overall. 3/5

This is Why We Lie by Gabriella Lepore- if you like traditional YA high-school murder mysteries, you will absolutely love this book. It’s a super quick read with a high-school whodunnit storyline and a very suspicious cast of characters. I would definitely recommend if you’re looking to get out of a slump or for an easy, gripping story. 4/5

Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach – !!! This book exceeded my expectations by SO much. I was hoping for an easy contemporary romance read and, whilst I definitely got that from this book, it also discussed so many important themes and topics alongside its romantic storyline. This book is a masterclass on how to use fiction to genuinely educate on issues without forcing the message and making the story feel artificial, and I adored it. 5/5

And that’s it! Let me know in the comments if you loved any of these as much as I did, and what your favourite read of September was 🙂

MARCH WRAP-UP

Francesca Lucy1 Comment

Happy April!

I’m optimistic about this month for a lot of bookish reasons. The new releases coming out this month are incredible, the bookshops are re-opening(!!) AND I am, for once, not starting the month in a reading slump. I feel like I read in every spare moment I had in March and I was given so many good new books on NetGalley that things in the non-reality sphere are definitely looking good.

With that in mind, here’s my (pretty exciting) March wrap-up…

The Loop by Ben Oliver – I was gifted this book and its sequel for a blog tour (that will be up very, very soon!) and I loved it SO much. If you like The Fifth Wave or The 100 or The Maze Runner or really any of the slightly older dystopian YA, this book is definitely worth a read. Full review to follow but, honestly, a wonderful start to the month.

Hunter x Hunter (volumes 11 and 12) by Yoshihiro Togashi – this is a kind of random choice since I haven’t read volumes 1 through 10 but I love HxH and could not resist picking these up when I found them in a charity shop last year. Both were super fun, though 11 was by far the more exciting of the two. On a side note, if you haven’t watched HxH (2011), you absolutely need to…

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue – my review for this one is here. This was a super fun, slightly younger YA read about tarot reading, with lots of good LGBTQ+ rep.

The Lock In by Phoebe Luckhurst – contemporaries are not normally my thing in winter, but I requested this one on a whim and really enjoyed it. Though a little predictable at times, this was a funny rom-com set in a very familiar setting (a rented house-share in London…).

Love in Five Acts by Daniela Krien – this again is not my usual genre, but it was a pretty unique and very interesting exploration of how different women cope with love and loss in the twenty-first century. My review, if you want to check it out, is here.

Of Wicked Blood by Katie Hoyez and Olivia Wildenstein – this one was my only audiobook for the month and I’ve been listening to it forever on NetGalley. It’s a magical adventure set in France, following a life-or-death quest and an unlikely romance. I didn’t really connect with it as much as I would have liked, but the narrators were great and I loved the action elements a lot.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim – this book is the best thing I read in March. As with The Loop, I’m super excited to be reading the sequel this month and can’t wait to see what happens next. My review for this is here.

And that’s it! Hope you have a wonderful reading month ahead, and I’d love to hear what your best book of March was, in case it’s something I need to add to my TBR…